I know, I know

I've had more than a few requests that I update this thing, and I'm finally getting around to it. What with school, holiday parties, shopping and two often unruly toddlers...what can I say?

So let's just get right back on, shall we?
Thanksgiving we spent in Athens, AL, which is a beeyoutiful place just outside of Huntsville. I would so live there. All of Reed's family lives there, save BIL and SIL and niece, and everytime we go is a great time.

There were leaves, leaves, everywhere. This entertained the kids (and the dads!) for quite awhile until Dinner was served. 1st pic is Carson and Kimberly piling the leaves on Reed, 2nd is Trevor enjoying the storm.

Carson and Kimberly were fast friends and had a blast! I heard more giggling in 2 days then in all my teenage years combined. (I think).












The Terrific Trio on a walk around Granny's neighborhood.

Then after Thanksgiving, we had our first annual Holiday party here at the house. Adults only!
Food, Food, and more Food. And liquor! Makes for a fun evening, even though quite a few people couldn't make the party due to a conflicting holiday party at their work. Ugh! Must schedule sooner next year! I was going to run into someone's party regardless of when I had it though. All in all, it was a good time.









We played Santa Swap (hence the presents by the fireplace) and there seemed to be a theme among gifts this year. Gift cards, anyone? Next year I may make a rule that says no gift cards, period. Reed definitely enjoyed his chocolates (a little too much!)















Last week held two more parties, Reed's work dinner and G's Super Fabulous get together at his beautiful house. I'm so jealous, and suddenly completely underwhelmed with my own unfabulous house. Oh well.

Have a great Christmas, and see you next week!

Hiking Trip

We went hiking today in Dupont State Forest near Brevard, NC. It was so beautiful! And what a hike! We packed a picnic and hiked two of the trails, Hooker Falls (no clue why it's named that, don't ask), and Triple Falls. They were both great. We would have gone on up to High Falls, but at that point Reed and I were carrying a 30+ pound baby in a backpack and helping Carson climb...it got steep! So we turned around. Next time we'll do just the High Falls first. We took a ton of pics. Thank God for digital cameras!

Hallowe'en has come and gone

We had a great time on Hallowe'en. The kids had a blast! This was Trevors "first" year that he could really participate. We didn't even go ToT'ing last year! We went to a party at Brandy's and it was awesome! The food was great, the kids adorable, and the begging for candy very fun.

Here are the boys before we left. Carson was, of course, Superman! And Trevor, the dino from his party. They were so cute! Joanna took this one, I just made it black and white. Someone I know said it looks like a pic of "Superheroes when they were young". It makes me smile. You can see more photos of the party and night (if so inclined) on Brandy and Joanna's blogs.










Took some more photos outside today, because the weather was finally nice enough for us to play. I'm struggling to get better shots of the boys. I know I'm doing something wrong as I take them, but can't figure out what. I've been pouring over sites and books to learn more, but I may just be photog-illiterate. Who knows?


This is my favorite.








Was it something I said? LOL

Bracelets for a good cause

Hello! I know it's been ages, and having a life is no excuse. Actually, midterms are not what I consider a "life", but nevertheless...
I am also busy making these bracelets. I'm doing it to raise money for a cancer patient at my oncologist's office. All the profits will go to her and her family, for the payment of her treatments and such. I've gotten quite a response but still have a great deal of supplies to make more bracelets with, so if you or someone you know would like to support a great cause with cute jewelry, email me at smithstation@mchsi.com. They're just $10 a piece and so far everyone has been really happy with them. I do the multicolored, as shown, as well as any particular color (that's made in beads) to support a specific cancer. Let me know! This family could really use your help!

Many Millions of Years ago...

Dinosaurs walked the earth. Two years ago, Trevor was born. He looooves dinos! We started out the day with 2 birthday donuts (the breakfast of champions, you know.)










Then got down to decorating. First the Volcano Cake, complete with dry ice smoke pouring from the top and sparkler candles.












The "Pin the horn on the Triceratops" game was a big hit...with two of the partiers.










Trevor gave a final approval of the kids table decorations with Dad.
(More dinos, of course!)

Practising our scary "ROAR" in full costume...Trevor would later scare the very first guest to arrive and have to take the dino outfit off. :( It WAS a realistic "Roar".

Uncle Joseph supervises the Pterodactyl swinging, so that the light fixture doesn't fall down.

Blindfolded and dizzy...who comes up with these games?

I got the horn right where I wanted it...

The elusive Trevorosaurus, in his birthday suit, after a long day of partying. Crikey!

Just "Ducky"

We had a great time feeding these "ducks" (what the kids insist they are) at the lake, and they make for a pretty picture...

My very own superman!

It's a bird...It's a plane...

So things lately have been hechtic. I started fall semester and so far I'm loving my classes. Some days I think I should just go ahead and do medical school though...at this point it seems silly not to. LOL
Reed has had job offers from everywhere, and we are frantically trying to decide because of course everyone wants him post haste. Should we move? Should we stay? Either way, it means good things, I hope! :)

The boys have been awesome lately. Carson has moved past the terrible two's (and three's) and has really become a good little guy. With quite a personality! And Trevor hasn't quite gotten INTO the terrible twos, so it's a good time. We have a huge dino party next weekend for Trevor's birthday, and I think it's going to be great fun.







Trevor practising to be a grave digger? In Athens cemetary...


Guy and Carson, driving buddies.

Stop! Potty Time!

uhoh! look who's getting potty trained!
He asked if he could peepee, and did it! He got to wear "big boy underwear" (pullups) and was so proud! He kept giving me "five" and potatoes. LOL Ever since then, he's been telling me when he needs to go. Sometimes we make it in time, sometimes we don't, but this is a big step! Go Peapie!

We went to the park on Friday afternoon and had the best time! It was overcast, so it was bearable. It's been close to 100 for the last week! Carson and Reed played baseball while Trevor and I went walking, then we all hung out on the playground.

Punk Rocker!

Carson got a new haircut tonight. It will be interesting to see how it is received, but he LOVES it. He looked in the mirror and said "I look just like a bird!" LMAO! He's been patting it all night. We just thought it would be funny, but it really looks cute. I had half intentions of shaving the rest off if it looked hideous, but since he's happy, I'm happy. Plus, he does look pretty freaking cool....

It's a MOHAWK!














Pre-punk phase, Carson got a doctor's kit for his bday and has been healing us all. Here's Trevor getting his shots (because he has boogers, Mom, and needs a shot to fix that).












And, Aah! Look what we can do! We can climb up on the counter and give mom a coronary! This counter is connected to all the others, and nothing is safe any longer. Such little monkeys...

Stinky Blogger

Wouldn't let me add anything new to that last post, or even add a new post for a few days. Something to do with cookies. I am woefully inexperienced when it comes to computers, most of what I know I have tinkered with until I figured it out, and that's not much. I can't even change the background on my myspace because it all looks like Greek to me! Anyway, here are a few more pictures. We have friends from my class coming to dinner tonight, so I haven't much time.
Lots of things going on in life right now, not all of them good, but we're holding. We've dealt with worse, and come out mostly unscathed, so we just keep truckin'. After this week, I've seen so much worse, it's hard to feel pity about yourself...

watermelon painted to look like a pineapple! LOL








party buddies!


Here he is, the four year old. That sounds so foreign to me. I have a hard time saying I have a four year old. It seems like another lifetime in some aspects, and in reality it is. Living in Florida, before cancer, before Trevor, before school, working at the bridal shop...Everything has changed since he was born, except for the important bits: two completely in love people who are head over heels for a beautiful little boy with huge blue eyes that take everything in and a huge, quick smile for everyone he meets. My life may have changed in just about every way possible since he came into the world, but my love for him has not. I'm learning new things about him every day, as he changes. I'm filled with wonder at how quickly he learns (he's so smart!) My heart trips when he calls me Mama and tells me he loves me ("too much, Mama!") and on the rare occassion he'll let me cuddle him I feel blessed. Thanks, Carson. And Happy Birthday.

Four times the fun!

Friday was Carson's fourth birthday. He had a really awesome weekend. My best friend from junior high (and beyond) Carrie and her little girl Summer came up from Charlotte to spend the weekend. She helped me do so much for this party! I couldn't have done it without her! Carson really loves Summer, she's like a big sister to him. We all had a great time. The party was today, Sunday, and it was a hit! The theme was Bikini Bottom, and we had everything Sponge-y.
The kids were very cute, and the weather held out JUST long enough for the party to wrap. I am exhausted. But I think Carrie and I may have found our calling--we should plan parties professionally. We had such a blast. We joked that we could tell we were mothers now, since we were up on a Saturday night at 11 pm painting Bikini Bottom on a plastic tablecloth!










This was our jellyfishing game. I made a pole out of a dowel and a plastic balloon weight. Paper jellyfish had velcro backs on them and the "hook" was the velcro front attached to the balloon weight. The sea was a blue plastic tablecloth, with a few paper flowers and seaweed!

Blog no more?

Friends and fellow bloggers...how would you feel if we were no longer able to access one another's blogs, read about our friends, get inspiration from their projects, ooh and ahhh over their children?? That's what some people want. This website tells more in detail, but basically big internet providers like Verizon, AT&T, etc are busy throwing money at Congress right now to get the previously unregulated "Net Neutrality" act passed into law...only giving THEM the say so in what we can access, what videos we can download, tacking on fees to "help" our computers download sites quicker (if we don't pay, they may not load at all!). Right now, any person with a computer can set up a site and dream big. If these big companies get their wish, only those with enough capital to buy a spot among these big dogs will be able to accomplish anything. Think about a 'net without Ebay (which started small)...think about your own selling ventures online-do you want to compete pricing against AT&T? And why should we? Please, visit the site link and sign the petition. Let's keep the internet the way it is.

Damn Interesting

It really is...see for yourself. A friend posted this link and I've been engrossed ever since. Okay, alot of the topics are something I'd never think to ask about, but that's part of the fun, isn't it?

I'm back in school, and taking a CNA class. It's definitely interesting...the people in it, not the class. It's a diverse bunch. An IT guy, a few graduates, a woman with a MSW...? Call me crazy, but if I get a master's in something, I think I'll try to make that stick...not go for a license that will pay me 9 bucks an hour. Seriously. Now that CNA licensing is a requirement for all nursing students before they can take the NCLEX, there's a mad dash for classes. I had to stand in line FOUR HOURS to get into this one, and I'm told that the following classes are booked solid through November. Maybe I need to get a certification to teach the CNA classes instead....Nah. I'm glad to be back in school, but the schedule is kicking my butt.

My kids are pretty wild these days. Carson is reading short words, yes READING. It's amazing. Trevor is talking more every day and making sentences and saying babble that we understand because even though it's "Trevorese", it seems to have nouns and verbs, which added to his expressions make it really coherent. It's crazy. Tonight he told Carson off...and Carson definitely understood! "Cha cha (carson)...you NO NO nagee ball dib me toe" Which means..."Carson, don't bounce that ball on my toe again, or I will turn you upside down and give you a wedgie"

He got the point.

We got a piano, thanks to the help of Clayton's muscles, Brandy's adorable hubby, and the kids love it. I can't wait to teach them the keys, and I'm thinking I can use grease pencil to write the letters on the keys without hurting it. It's too early yet for them to read music...right? But both boys are definitely musical and Carson sings with good pitch, so I think he's going to have a good ear. I've been awkwardly practising, with my broken finger, but it's all flooding back. I even have my old primers and notes to start with!

At long last

I've typed several new entries here over the last week but none have gone through. I've got my fingers crossed this time!

My big, beautiful baby boy is growing up so darn fast! He had his 4 year old pictures made on Sunday, even though his birthday isn't till next month.

Busy Girl!

We've been busy, busy here lately and I feel like I can't catch up. We're thinking of running off to the beach a few days with the kiddos, let them stick their toes in the sand and such...and at the end of the month we have Kris and Mandy's wedding in Gatlinburg! They're finally doing it! Congrats, guys! My mom is keeping the boys for us since it's also our anniversary weekend and we'll just stay a few days and relax. We love to shop the outlets, see a show (this place was our favorite, although this ad looks cheesy as crap!) We're looking forward to it.

We are finally looking in to buying a new place. We need a flatter yard so the kids can play without schlepping to the park...I love trees but it's ridiculous to wash your car every day due to the copious amounts of sap that falls on it and makes it almost too sticky to open...and I'm ready for something new. All good reasons, don't ya think? Plus we need to move a bit closer to Asheville for a few reasons. My school will be that way next year, my clinicals will mostly be in Asheville, and one of Reed's dealerships will be in downtown. whew. Wish us luck. I hate house hunting because it seems like you have to look forever. I just want it DONE.

I'm making Carson's birthday party invitations because he wants a "Bikini Bottom" party...not spongebob, but Bikini Bottom. No such invite at the card store. They're coming out pretty cute, although they are time consuming. He keeps adding friends to his list. We started with 5 and now we're up to 14 I think. Ay yi yi...14 four year olds!

this is what we do when we are bored! I love sidewalk chalk. And I've decided that it's the reason carson can read small words already!